What? Died? Part immortal? Half Breed? Man-hunt, a threat to millions… wait a gosh darn minute! This reads like a bloody season of 24 but with a supernatural twist… no no no not Supernatural, well not really, these guys are not angels, vampires or zombies.. of course there is a character that reminds me of Cas and also one that reminds me of Crowley but only because of the snark and attitude.

But let’s get down to why everyone I know should seriously pick this puppy up and read it! Well, all of those without heart conditions that is. Why you ask?

INTENSE, NON-STOP ACTION - You know the movie Speed? Reading this book is like being on the bus, and you know if the bus stops something bad is going to happen, as in BOOM. You do not know if the bus can be stopped safety so you don’t want the bus to stop, you want it to keep going while Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock can manage to keep the bus from slowing down, the stars from freaking out and everyone else in line till he can figure out what to do. Starrling is our Keanu here, she is not letting anything slow the bus story down. Not one step or breath in the wrong direction. (I seriously found myself gasping because I had been holding my breath for oh…. the chapter I just finished.)

Our main protagonist, Lucas Soul, is sickeningly rich (duh, been around for centuries), incredibly well learned and smart (see former duh), and is about as perfect as can be, sort of… he still has a bit of a broken soul, a heart that needs mending, his second half found. And he finds her amidst the smoking guns, 15th & 16th deaths and beyond seventeen… (wicked grin). Who it ends up being may shock many but Starrling, again, pulls this off splendidly.

SMART & WELL RESEARCHED STORY-LINE - The story is full of all sorts of procedural geeky science stuff that makes the nerd smart chick in me go ooohh! The Immortals are wealthy and have had years to research and work with the science of biology and genetics. They happen to be Immortal-ish. Well that is they can die seventeen times and still live to talk about it. You have to take a leap of faith into the realm of the supernatural and accept them for what they are. Don’t worry it is explained, enough to give you a basic understanding. To say more would be spoiling it.

This is where certain aspects of 24 comes in for me. How many times did you roll your eyes when Jack Bauer actually managed to get cell service in some dank underground sewage tunnel? Without giving Sprint kudos, it is actually possible for a signal to work far down underground. Starrling has the characters getting one and even goes into explaining how. I looked it up, and when you get to the point in the novel I think you will agree the way she does this small info dump is just right. Not to much to make you go COME ON, move along, I get it already! He can talk underground because … and … and…! My point is, there is a lot of technical things happening in the book but Miss Starrling brings it to a readability level which most should be able to grasp without dumbing it down to .. well dumb. It is a smart read, she treats her readers with respect and knows she is giving just the right enough information not to make their eyes glaze over and start craving a PBR while scratching their crotch.

Villains and Heroes to love- Two families who treat each other like two different races. Lucas is the son of a daughter of one and son of the other family and yet belongs to neither. To the point of possible genocide this is part of the whole threat! The whole “cast” is lovable even if it is a love hate relationship. I want to choke the shit out of many of the asshats which basically are reminiscent to Nazi Germany, but justly so. It is totally necessary to set up the back story. Am I making any sense? Well I am to me, go read the book, it is that complex yet not overwhelmingly so!

The characters are thick and real, I can see each of them in my minds-eye The Hunters hunting, the hunted hunting back, its a swirling pot of awesomesauce. Lucas Soul is like a brooding Cas (yes now you can think Supernatural) blended with the hardass Bauer and wrapped up in a smart-ass-humor bow. Not obnoxious, just right. He has the shrug the shoulders and move along kind of attitude. Reid, his partner in “crime” is a human who has absolutely the best freaking luck I have ever seen. There is more than meets the eye with this guy and he goes with the flow. Anna comes in a bit later and we do not get to know her as well, but we all feel for her and by the end know we will learn even more in the next book.

The list goes on seriously, but this review needs to wrap up! The one other character whom I have fallen in love with, as in I want him in my basement to be used at my disposal, is Anatole. I like him so very much. What’s not to like about a guy who is able to move past the ingrained bigotry and support the cause and the people. Who is able to tell everyone to get out while they can and look back at the amassing enemies and face one of his deaths with a shout ”Hey assholes! We’re right here!“

You won’t be be able to put this one down. You will need to write your self a note reminding yourself to breath, you will want to take blood pressure and anti-seizure medicine prior to starting because you are in for an amazing and exciting ride. This one is getting 5 out of 5 lives, and in the of the fifth star, is just not the final star! Because this story is one to hit the immortal and classic spot on the bookshelves. It is so promising there is no where but up to go!